


Common Ground

by CentreBullet



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: American kettle shaming, Blow Jobs, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Canon Compliant, Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Missing Scene, No beta we die like mne, Sam Wilson Feels, Sam Wilson Is A Good Bro depending on your definition of Bro, Sam Wilson is a Gift, Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson Friendship, Steve Rogers Feels, i guess?, if you want to be literal about it, interstitial fic, nobody knows how to talk about their Feelings, sambucky Feels, sorry to be a cliche but i do not know how to cope without electric kettles, very domestic Sam Wilson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:54:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29555244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CentreBullet/pseuds/CentreBullet
Summary: Sam sighed."This must be why they say never to meet your heroes. 13 year old Sam could never.”
Relationships: Falcon/Winter Soldier, James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	Common Ground

**Author's Note:**

> This work is over 4 years old. It was written a couple of weeks after ‘Civil War’ came out in the cinema but never posted, so it doesn’t reflect any MCU developments after 2016. Yes I have a backlog.

“Fuck. Fuuuuuck." Sam couldn’t keep it in but he tried to keep it down.

Bucky rolled over, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He cleared his throat and worked his jaw a little.

"Yeah. That."

Sam's breathing and heart rate had slowed down close to their regular rate, so he sat up, fastening his pants under Bucky’s steady gaze.

"Well, that was an unexpected end to my day but, uh, thanks?"

Bucky's eyebrows quirked up in a slight gesture of surprise, but his mouth remained gently (if scornfully) amused.

"We both got what we wanted. No thanks needed."

"Alright. Well. Looks like our time's up. Tomorrow's looking grim, so I'm gonna grab another hour while I can, and not on this floor."

He was starting to stand when he realised he wasn't moving, no doubt because a metal hand was locked around his left wrist. Barnes was looking up at him with a hint of a glare in his otherwise impassive stare.

"Don't mention anything to Steve."

**~ Earlier ~**

Having decided Bucky could come out of the vice, Steve & Sam nevertheless formed an immediate unspoken agreement not to leave him alone. Steve of course jumped at the chance for an uninterrupted tete-a-tete with his sullen soulmate (bitchy, Wilson, just bitchy), but when Sam pulled the door closed behind them and headed off for whatever uncomfortable rest he could get, neither of them seemed to be looking forward to it much. Steve didn't need a lot of sleep but he needed something and he was surely running close to empty now. Sam set himself an alarm for four hours and settled down, his unease overpowered only by his exhaustion.

He woke up cold, feeling, if not fully rested, at least a little better, and less out of sorts despite the concrete floor aches. He should probably play mother, even if the grimy workshop was barely a step above a bomb site in terms of facilities. Thank God for Europe, at least there was a working electric kettle. 

He felt cranky knocking on the closed door, as if he was interrupting - and he probably was. 

"Come in." Steve. Wow. They looked as if they'd barely moved, both sat on the floor on opposite sides of the room, barely meeting each other's eyes. Sam had envisioned so many possible outcomes for when they finally found Bucky, but the two of them practically ignoring each other hadn't been high on his list. Of course, with their hearing he'd given them plenty of warning, so who knew what had gone on five minutes before, but the awkward tension wasn't something easy to fake. Sam still felt no closer to understanding what the hell their friendship was about, and had this odd mixture of relief and envy at the idea that him and Steve, their deal, that was some pretty straightforward got-your-back-man buddy stuff. This felt miserable, and Sam wasn't inclined to martyrdom, but there was some undefinable force under it that he couldn't pin down and it made him itchy, even frustrated.

"Here." He handed a hot mug of whatever mysterious German packet soup he’d found to Steve first, not wanting to be rude to their third wheel but craving the little flash of brilliant smile that - yep, there it was - being the good cop could get you. Steve's gratitude was sweet, uncomplicated, ever so slightly cloying and probably the nicest thing that Sam was going to be given for a while, so he savoured it a little.

"Sorry about the cups" he grimaced in a show of solidarity, handing Bucky the chipped green one with no handle, he couldn't feel anything in that left hand anyway "we weren't exactly spoiled for choice but I thought we could all use a little heat right now". 

Steve & Bucky made practically identical sour faces at the contents but were gracious about it. Bucky muttered a polite "Thanks" and Steve turned to catch Sam's eye.

"Guess who's found 6 packets of instant ramen? Beef or chicken curry?”

Steve's face was that of a proud parent at their first nativity play.

"You're a life-saver, Sam. Don't mind me, you and Bucky go eat."

"Steve." Steve was going to get the hard stare. "Tomorrow's going to be hard. You need all the energy you can get. Eat and get some sleep, or you won't be able to do your job. Sorry I didn’t pack MREs for this one.”

"You know I don't need much..."

"I know. I also know you'll be better if you do. We're all looking to you. Now go. I'm waiting on a call-back from my guy anyway, don't worry, I'll wake you in four hours."

"Sure?" Steve cast his eyes across to Bucky nervously. Bucky glared back.

"Steve, if I was gonna run off, I already would've. Don't kid yourself you're the one making the difference. I'm here cos I'm out of options."

Steve couldn't turn fast enough to hide that little flash of humiliated pain. Good work, Barnes. Throw it in his face, why don't you?

"Hey Steve, I've been waiting two years to meet this guy, I'm hoping he might have some some embarrassing war stories about you he'd like to share because I surely deserve that reward for my time. This is your best friend. We'll be fine. Scoot."

Steve, of course, looked to Bucky for approval.

"Get some rest, Steve."

Steve really was exhausted, and took no further convincing to haul himself out to the broken kitchenette for the least fun midnight feast of all time. Bucky didn't watch him leave.

**~ A Little Later ~**

"I was hoping you might want to talk a little. Steve's got another two hours and this place is definitely getting a one star review.”

"Thanks for calling your friend for me."

"You're welcome. That it?"

"What do you want?"

"C’mon man, I'm just trying to make conversation. You're Steve's best friend."

"I kicked you off a helicarrier."

"Not gonna say that's all water under the bridge, but I know that wasn't you. I'm trying to meet the real you."

"If you find him, let me know." Bucky turned back to staring at the grimy walls. Sam sighed.

"This must be why they say never to meet your heroes. 13 year old Sam could never.”

Bucky gave a sharp, barked laugh, like a dog imitating a donkey. 

"21st century America, what a joke. Four generations of saps thinking Sergeant James Barnes was a hero."

"I don't know how anyone could think what you did was anything but heroic."

There was silence for a long few minutes, then, as if the conversation had never paused: 

"The only person I hate more than Captain America is Sergeant Barnes. You'd think that prick was some kind of goddam matinee idol, the way he gets written about. But he was a selfish, brutal killer, and not a damn thing he did was for a God and country he didn't believe in."

"Alright, so what was the real Bu- James Barnes like?"

"Not the ladykiller your films want to tell you, that's for sure. Jesus, you know how many James Barnes Jrs would've existed if all that were true?"

"So you didn't get a lot of dates, then?"

"I know people think dating's just a polite word for fucking now, but trust me when I say they weren't the same thing then at all."

"That one really bugs you, huh?"

"Could be worse, could be the guy everyone's decided is as pure as the driven snow."

"Opinions on that one seem to differ."

"Yeah, so I hear. Something about not daring to speak its name, right? Not that it gets any closer to the actual..." he broke off, shaking his head a little, greasy strands drifting around his cheeks. He tried again: "Sometimes I feel like maybe I'm the crazy one, like that guy in the museums and the books really existed somewhere and I'm just some weird clone, a failed experiment that thinks it's got some of his memories. I mean, I am crazy, but not that crazy."

"Hey, it's not crazy to be pissed off when everyone thinks they know who you are and they don't have a clue. At least there's one guy who knows you."

Bucky shook his head again more slowly, chewing on his lower lip.

"Maybe once but...now he's got his own icon of me in his head. Another sad tribute to a dead man."

"Surely he's no more that naive idiot than you're that charming sleazeball?"

A ghost of a smile drifted across those worn features.

"Ok, you got me. But it's not a complete lie. Steve's always had that little touch of naivety that makes you want to believe, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. What do you think I'm doing here?" Sam grinned. This felt like progress. Even Bucky looked a little more relaxed, which still meant he looked about ready to rip Sam's head off if he made the wrong move, but he might at least smirk about it afterwards. Sam moved his busted chair a little closer and Bucky didn't pull away, so that was something.

"So, are we now at the stage in our relationship where I can convince you to share some embarrassing Steve anecdotes?"

Bucky gave him the full stare. It was frankly intimidating, and designed to be. 

"We have a relationship now?"

"Sure. It's early days, but I think I'm ready for the commitment of a heart-warming Great Depression story." 

"I've forgotten a lot of things."

"I'm not pushing. You don't wanna tell me stories, you don't have to. We can count cracks in the ceiling. Track spiders. You could get some sleep."

"I don't sleep much."

"Of course you don't. But you can at least get some rest. Anything's a bonus."

Bucky stood up, stretching. His joints should have made audible crunching noises but they were eerily silent.

"I got other priorities."

"OK."

Without a word of warning, Bucky was right up against him, their knees touching, their chests millimetres apart. Sam instinctively flinched back but that warm right hand was around his wrist, holding him gently but inexorably in place. Their faces were a couple of inches apart and Sam slid his eyes over to meet an unexpectedly soft gaze. It was hopeful, with a little hint of shyness. 

"If this is what I think it is, it's still the weirdest thing that's happened to me today."

"It's probably what you think it is." Bucky murmured, his mouth moving closer at an almost imperceptible rate, giving Sam every opportunity to shut it down. He relaxed his lips against the gentle pressure of that stubbled mouth because even in his current dishevelled and frankly grimy state, this was everyone's middle school crush, the king of notebook heart doodles, and he was kissing Sam Wilson like he couldn't believe he might be allowed to, like he was trying to keep his desires in check. Sam felt the warm tip of that tongue push gently against his closed lips and he softly paused the kiss by pressing their foreheads together and sighing lightly.

"Bucky." He seemed to twitch a little at Sam using that name, like he just hadn't earned it yet, baby.

"If you didn't want this, I'm sorry. I should've asked first."

"I...It's not that. It's...how come we're here now, doing this?"

Bucky shrugged. "High chance of dying tomorrow. Of things I'd like to do before I die, this is pretty high on the available list."

"Oh, I'm available now?"

"I've seen how you look at Steve. I got eyes."

"So why is it me here and not Steve?"

Bucky's face was carefully impassive. 

"Ain't never been like that with us. I know what people think sometimes and they just...have no idea. How things are."

"Did you ever want it to be like that?"

"If I could answer that, my life might've been a lot less weird."

"So, I'm ok with consolation prize but..."

"Nothing like that. We've got something in common is all, and I always heard that was the basis for strong relationships."

"Something in common. I like that."

"I'm sure we've got a lot in common if you wanna keep looking." A warm hand on the small of his back, lips travelling over to the line of his jaw, his neck. The metal hand, a little cold, making him shiver as it cupped the back of his head. Sam followed the shiver through by wrapping his left arm around Bucky's back and pressing his right palm into that firm chest, smoothing a path down towards the handle of his hip. He could already feel the firm pressure against his thigh and moved to slot their hips together neatly so they could...oh yes. The gasped reaction told him he was right.

**~ Later ~**

Stuck to the floor of the airport walkway with the chatty kid’s goop, Sam realised this might be the only moment he'd get for a personal farewell. He felt some kind of way about it. Maybe he wouldn't get to say goodbye to Steve at all. He opened his mouth to speak.

"You couldn't have done that earlier?"

Some people had no gratitude at all.

**~ Later Later ~**

The Quinjet was a respite, but conversation was strained to the point of pain.

"What'll happen to Sam? Will they kill him?"

"No Bucky, they're...not like that."

Bucky snorted.

"Tony's not like that."

"Tony's not calling the shots now."

"Sam'll be ok." Steve would've sounded convincing to someone who didn't know him.

"We shouldn't have left him."

"I know. But he made a..."

"His choice, I know. Because of you. You sure know how to pick your friends."

"Yeah I do." Steve turned to look at him. Bucky looked away. "Guess I'm just lucky."

"Don't know about that. You've a way of getting people to follow you into anything. That's a skill. Or, I don't know, a quality.”

"Time was only one person was stupid enough to do it." 

"Boot's on the other foot now, right?"

"Only fair. We'll go back for Sam and the others though, once we're done."

"They don't deserve to take the fall for me."

"I'm glad you got to know Sam a little before all this happened. He's a good guy."

"Yeah. Turns out we've got something in common."


End file.
